Laura Gallagher – Limerick | MS Journeys
For Laura Gallagher from Limerick, living with multiple sclerosis means learning to carry uncertainty while continuing to build a life filled with purpose, creativity and hope.
“Living with MS is learning how to carry uncertainty while still building a life you love.”
MS has changed Laura in many ways. She says it has made her slower in some ways, but stronger in others. It has taught her to listen to her body, ask for help when needed and stop taking small, ordinary moments for granted.
She also feels it has made her more empathetic and more determined.
For someone newly diagnosed, Laura’s advice is full of reassurance:
“Your life is not over. It might look different than you expected, and there will be hard days, but there will also still be joy, love, ambition, laughter, and so many things worth looking forward to. Give yourself time to process it all.”
Support has played an important role in Laura’s MS journey. She says that people may not realise how important support is until they truly need it, and that her family and the wider MS community have helped her feel less alone during difficult moments.
MS Ireland has also been a significant source of support. After Laura’s first hospitalisation with MS, she was referred to MS Ireland, which became one of her first points of contact after diagnosis.
At a time when everything felt overwhelming and uncertain, she says that support meant a lot.
Through MS Ireland, Laura signed up for group physiotherapy. Even through the grief that can come with diagnosis, she found comfort in being surrounded by people who truly understood what she was going through.
She says MS Ireland has provided “support, information, advocacy, and a real sense of community.”
For Laura, being part of the wider MS community means connection. MS can feel isolating because so much of it is invisible, but the MS community reminds her that she is not facing it alone.
One of the things that has surprised Laura most is how unpredictable MS can be.
Symptoms can change from day to day. Some days she needs her cane and some days she does not. There are days when she can work, socialise and seem completely fine, and other days when simple things feel exhausting.
Fatigue is one of Laura’s biggest challenges, as it affects every part of life and can be difficult to explain to people who have not experienced it.
She has also dealt with symptoms affecting swallowing, speech, mobility and concentration. The invisible side of MS can be particularly hard because people often cannot see what a person is carrying.
To manage her MS, Laura says pacing herself has been important.
Emotionally, creativity helps her a great deal. Writing gives her an outlet and a sense of purpose, especially on difficult days, while support from those around her makes a major difference.
Laura is proud that she has continued building her career as an author while navigating MS.
She says there were times when she doubted herself, but she kept going.
She is also proud to be an MS Ireland ambassador, seeing it as a way to give back to a community that supported her during difficult moments.
She is keen to challenge the misconception that everyone with MS looks or experiences it the same way.
MS affects everyone differently, and many symptoms are invisible. Someone can look completely fine on the outside while struggling enormously behind the scenes.
Her message to others living with MS is gentle and compassionate:
“Be gentle with yourself. You don’t have to prove your strength every second of every day. Rest when you need to, celebrate the small wins, and remember that your life still has value and possibility, even on the hard days.”
For Laura, World MS Day is important because it raises awareness, challenges misconceptions and helps people living with MS feel less alone.
It is also a reminder that there is a whole community standing together and supporting one another.
Laura’s story is one of resilience, creativity and hope, showing how support, connection and self-belief can help people continue to build a meaningful life with MS.
Laura’s MS Diagnosis Journey
